Conventional cleansing compositions such as shampoos, for example, contain standard surfactants such as anionic, nonionic and/or amphoteric type surfactants.
These cleaning compositions can be applied onto a wet keratinous substrate (e.g. hair or skin) and the lather they generate make it possible, after rinsing with water, to remove the diverse types of soils typically present on the hair or skin.
While these compositions provide good cleansing power, they often have poor intrinsic cosmetic properties due to the fact that the relatively aggressive nature of such a cleansing treatment may, in the long term, give rise to more or less pronounced damage on hair fibers or skin associated, for example, with the gradual removal of the fats or proteins contained in or at their surface. Thus, to improve the cosmetic properties of cleansing compositions, cationic compounds are sometimes added to such compositions to act as conditioning agents and improve the tactile properties of said compositions.
As described above, typical cleansing compositions, in particular shampoos, include a number of active surfactants to effect both cleansing and conditioning. The use of increased types and amounts of surfactants increases the cost of the resulting compositions.
Consumers prefer sulfate-free cleansing compositions due to perceived mildness and desirable sensorial experience. However, sulfate-free cleansers are difficult to thicken sufficiently to afford the user good usage qualities. Currently two approaches are leveraged to attempt to thicken such formulas. One approach is to use high levels of surfactants to benefit from the self-assembling properties of such ingredients. This approach is most common but it is also costly. The second approach is to use high levels of rheology modifiers which can adversely impact the properties of the composition such as by decreasing the foam and ease of distribution of the composition.
Aqueous cleansing compositions are desirable as being more environmentally friendly as well as safer for consumers. However, aqueous compositions can be thin and runny making them undesirable for personal use. Thickeners, including rheology modifiers, can be used to increase the viscosity of such compositions making them more aesthetically pleasing. The use of surfactant-polymer blends to increase the viscosity of cleansing compositions is described, for example, in US2012/0213725. However, as mentioned above, use of such viscosity increasing thickeners can adversely affect both the cleansing and/or foaming properties of cleansing composition requiring the use of increased amounts of the cleansing surfactants.
Thus, there remains a need for a cleansing composition, particularly a shampoo, which is effective at cleaning even while containing lower amount of active surfactants than typical cleansing products, but also still possesses good esthetic properties such as good foam, and is thick and creamy in texture, is silky to the touch and affords conditioning.